Guest Post by Nicky Wells

Congratulations to Nicky Wells whose new book, ‘Dead Hope’ is out today. I am reading it at the moment and I can tell you now that it’s good. Nicky has written a guest post for my blog which I hope you all enjoy.

From the mundane to the sublime

It often takes people by surprise to hear that I’ve got eight published novels to my name. ‘That’s so cool,’ is the most common reaction. ‘How did you get into writing?’ The answer to that question is simple. I didn’t really get into writing. I’ve always written. I submitted my first masterpiece, a children’s book, to a publisher at about age eleven. Cue first rejection letter: while we publish books for children, we regrettably don’t publish books by children. Ah well.

That didn’t really stop me, although it altered my focus for a few decades while I went through school and university and eventually found myself a job writing informative books for business. And all the while, my first set of romance novels was begging to be written. When I quit my job to await the birth of my first child, the novels wouldn’t be silenced any longer, and Sophie’s Turn emerged first of all. That was twelve years ago, although it took another four years to bring the novel to market via Sapphire Star Publishing.

‘Eight books,’ I’m asked next. ‘Where do you get the ideas?’ Random flashes of inspiration, is the short answer to this one.

A chance remark from my husband parachuted the ‘rock star romance trilogy’ into my head. It went something like this. ‘Gosh, if Bon Jovi came knocking on our door one day, you’d be off for good.’ That night, I started drafting in my head… What if?

Spirits of Christmas came to me one January morning. I stumbled across ‘A Christmas Carol’ when I was tidying up and suddenly saw the whole story cast in rock stars. Fairy Tale of New York was a natural continuation of the story.

Fallen for Rock presented itself as a kind of antitheses to the rock star romance trilogy. What if my leading lady absolutely hated rock music? What events would have to transpire to make her fall for a rock star?

My romantic comedy, Seven Years Bad Sex, was conceived at an authors’ gala dinner. My table neighbour raised a glass and made a toast, but I was distracted. He admonished me, quite seriously, that not looking at someone while they’re toasting you gives you seven years bad sex. Ka-bang! The novel was in my head, just like that. I guess it’s a bit like dreaming—you get a whole movie’s worth of visuals inside a few seconds.

Dead Hope sprang on me whilst travelling into town on the bus. I was idly wondering about the lives and routines of the commuters when I suddenly thought, what if one of them is a celebrity in hiding? What if they’re only on the bus for bizarre and complicated reasons definitely worthy of a novel? In fact, Dead Hope was born under the working title of ‘Deep Cover’ but later morphed from a romance into a thriller, hence the darker title.

Speaking of bus, the idea for my next two novels—also thrillers—came to me not on the bus, but at the bus stop. (I should probably mention at this stage that as a non-driver, I am public-transport dependent and can frequently be seen hanging around the local bus shelter!). I’d had a spectacularly rough night with a poorly child and I felt pretty dead on my feet. Cue idea. By the time I got into town, I had the whole novel worked out in my head. By the time I arrived home six hours later, I had a whole alternative novel in my head. And those are the two novels I am writing right now.

Book Blurb

Cat Hope doesn’t want to go to prison. She needs a job, and she needs it fast: judge’s orders.

Kay Mahon, office worker by day and hacker by night, is on the run from a past life that he’d rather not remember.

When their paths cross, they discover that the night that derailed Cat’s future nineteen long years ago also changed the path of Kay’s life. Confused and intrigued, they begin to investigate the truth behind the deaths of the successful rock star couple Jackie and Adam Hope. Little do they know that their quest is putting Cat in grave danger.

About Nicky Wells

Nicky Wells writes captivating romance and breathtaking thrillers featuring famous (or infamous!) feisty heroes and extraordinary villains. DEAD HOPE is her eighth book and the first published novel in her “Wake Up Dead” themed thriller series, with the next two books scheduled for release through the course of 2017 and 2018. Nicky has previously published seven works of romantic fiction both with US publishing house, Sapphire Star Publishing, and independently.

Born in Germany, Nicky moved to the United Kingdom in 1993 and currently lives in Lincoln with her husband and their two boys. She loves listening to rock music, dancing, and eating lobsters. When she’s not writing, she’s hopelessly addicted to reading crime novels by the truck load.

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5 thoughts on “Guest Post by Nicky Wells”

thanks so much for hosting me here on your lovely blog on my launch day. I’m thrilled to hear you’re enjoying DEAD HOPE and can’t wait to hear your thoughts at the end! Meanwhile, I hope your readers enjoy meeting me and happy reading to everyone who decides to get a copy to check it out for themselves… Hoooray! 😀